Why did you buy your Viper?

[redsrt03]

I'm kind of curious about the purchasing motives of other Viper buyers.

I bought my Viper because I wanted a "hot looking, high performance" convertible. I drive it a lot and don't worry too much about little rock dings and such. In that regards I'm quite happy with the car (although the high performance part comes and goes due to mechanical failures.

Other poster's have mentioned buying vipers as investments, racing, etc.

So why did you buy your Viper and has it met your expectations.

 

[STUGOTS]

Well ever since the came came out in 1992 ( I was 9 years old) I had posters on my walls (still do lol) and it was always my favorite car and when I could afford it (at age 19) I bought one and it was my FIRST car and the realizing I could not use it as a daily driver I bought my rustang.

 

[BobK898]

Looks and performance.

 

[kaval]

ditto

 

[quickysrt]

in high school some kid asked me whats your dream car? i said a viper or a lambo.....never thought i would have eihter, lambo may be next.

 

[29OUTLAW]

Wow - sounds like some of you guys are pretty young. I was 32 when Vipers came out.

I bought just to have something different. When folks see Vipers there are only 2 possible reactions:

1 - Wow, check out the Viper.
2 - Wow, what the hell is that.

 

[WANTED]

BECAUSE I COULD LOL, really the reason was and still is, ITS THE MOST
WICKED CAR I HAVE EVER SEEN OR DRIVIEN, and still is, i'm on my second viper and plan on getting a 3rd soon. i plan to always own a viper for my entire life.

 

[Andy 98 RT/10]

I'm kind of curious about the purchasing motives of other Viper buyers.

I bought my Viper because I wanted a "hot looking, high performance" convertible. I drive it a lot and don't worry too much about little rock dings and such.

My reasons are pretty much exactly the same.

 

[FLOORIN04]

I personally like the fact it comes with a paxton s/c stock.


















HINT HINT HINT HINT

 

[98MODMTR]

I personally like the fact it comes with a paxton s/c stock.


















HINT HINT HINT HINT

rrriiiigggghhhttttt.

 

[SnakeEye]

I personally like the fact it comes with a paxton s/c stock.


HINT HINT HINT HINT

rrriiiigggghhhttttt.

750hp sure is bitchin' eh. No worries.

 

[FLOORIN04]

Did i also mention the free membership to the VCA.

 

[snakebitdave]

It was love at first site and second, third and fourth. Beautiful car, great performance and a joy to see the delight of others when they get a ride or get to drive one.

 

[ViperGMC]

I was actually looking at the 911 in various versions. My wife is the one who got me on the Viper. She asked me what was special about the Porsche. I said engineering, performance, quality, always wanted one and so on. She responded with “I see them all the time, every middle age man has one. It doesn’t look that special to me.” I should explain that she is an amazing designer; I don’t mean fabrics but buildings, auto dealerships etc. She asked if there were any other car I was looking at. I said yes, and I showed her a picture of the Viper. She said “now that’s cool looking”. I did a quick search and found a red one at a Dodge dealership fairly close, so we swung by on our way to dinner. On the way there is was teller her about the raw power and low tech muscle car concept the Viper was based on and she said that sounded a lot more like me than the Porsche. So we get to the dealership and she loved it. The car was sitting in the middle of the showroom and I loved it too. It was the first SRT I had seen other that in pictures. I asked if I could hear the engine. When the salesman started it up, I knelt down to the tailpipe and took a big whiff. She laughed and said “that car is so you, buy it.” I did not buy that one because I wanted black but I did find a black one two days later.

Later I will tell you about how our company lost a day’s production time when I drove the car to the office for the first time. And you will not believe the birthday cake my staff made for me.

 

[sal3coach]

I felt the need...the need for speed

 

[redlightrich]

my friend was an auto wholesaler he took one in on trade, threw me the keys and said "do what you want". the closest i came to an amusement park ride that i was in control of. i was bit. also the was and is quite a unique car. turns heads everywhere!!!

 

[NOMERCY]

I wanted a car with 1000hp. The Viper seemed to be the easiest platform to accomplish this with.

 

[DodgeViper01]

Well ever since the came came out in 1992 ( I was 9 years old) I had posters on my walls (still do lol) and it was always my favorite car and when I could afford it (at age 19) I bought one and it was my FIRST car and the realizing I could not use it as a daily driver I bought my rustang.

Pretty much the same here. Was always a dream of mine.

 

[Epro]

Uhhh
Why would I want a viper?

Answer: Because I like them

I think we all knew the answer to that one didn't we?

 

[SERPENT INDIANA]

so I could drool in my garage instead of out in public all the time...

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

I loved the AC Cobra. When the Viper was introduced I wanted one, for its American Performance. Five Vipers later and a Ram SRT QC I still want more!

 

[SRTJOE]

I got the SRT so I could torture myself 8 month out of the year when I could not drive it! But in the summer then I got to torture everyone else with envy.

 

[hemibeep]

Always been a huge MOPAR fan. During high school in the 80's I had a 68 dodge dart convertible. Everyone talked about how great dodge was (K-car - OMNI...etc). I am pretty thick skinned and let them laugh. I stuck with my mopars through the years-very loyal. In college in 91' and heard about the viper. As soon as I saw it, that was it. just said SOMEDAY. Finally I have almost completed the rebuild of the 97 that was wrecked hard. I like to do things the hard way, and then appreciate them so much more when they are done. 14 Months so far.......and the snake is almost on the road....

 

[quick2tr]

Everyone talked about how great dodge was (K-car - OMNI...etc). I am pretty thick skinned and let them laugh.

Those 80's Dodges . . . bringing back humbling memories . . . I had an Omni GLH turbo. I modded it. I street raced it. I broke it, I fixed it, I abandoned it, I forgot it . . .

I bought the Viper because I wanted a convertible with extraordinary handling, braking, and big displacement power. Styling was not much of a consideration, just needed to look cooler than an Omni.

 

[Bob K]

I fell in love the first time I saw a picture of one so for me it was style and design first. Then I discovered the performance and the rest is history. Now I keep buying them and can't bring myself to sell any. I have room in my garage for one more (SRT/10 Coupe) and then what?
Bob K

 

[David]

Why did I buy a Viper? I had stock options and had to do something with the oldest ones. I was either going to put the proceeds in Legg Mason's Value Trust mutual funds (best rated at the time) or do something else with it. I almost jokingly mentioned to a contractor that if the company stock went over "X" -- I'd buy a Viper. He immediately screamed "deal with the devil!" -- and we made a bet. The stock easily cleared "X" -- so I ordered the Viper. In the ensuing years of the dot-com bust, the mutual funds I had contemplated buying plummeted like a rock three years straight! With the Viper, I actually came out way ahead -- I would have lost much more in the mutual funds than in vehicle depreciation. Of course, a cash or bond position would have been better, but the low interest rates at the time wouldn't have made that a likely decision. So, I have to thank Lee Iacocca, Bob Lutz and a host of other "car guys" for making such a fantastic car that it kept me out of mutual funds at the right time.

 

[TomSlick]

We'll when I 1st heard about them in 1990 or so, I was hooked on the idea of a pure muscle car, bare bones, street/race car for around $ 35,000. So in '92, I went to the local Dodge Dealer and inquired about them, and they said "we'll it will be two years before we can get one, BUT come look at this car". They took me in and showed me a TT Stealth. It looked pretty good and I said OK, I'll buy it BUT when you get a Viper call me and I'll bring this car back in the same shape it's in now and I'll trade for a Viper. We'll they called me and they had a Black '94 RT/10 and I went in and they said they would trade for $48,000 difference. At the time I was talking to Team Motorsports about trading for $ 25,000 for a slightly used Red R/T 10 and a friend of mine bought the car. So I eventully traded the Stealth to Gene Robbins (Mike Robbins Dad) for the '96 that I first got, and haven't looked back. I'm glad I waited for the GTS (I also love the RT's and SRT's), because I'll never forget driving that car out of the showroom at Ringgold Dodge. The Blue/White stripe cars always will be my personal favorite, but when I saw the GTS-R on the '99 Viper Calender, I was hooked on the Red/Silver stripe Cars. But any Viper to me will be the best American Sports car on the planet. Oh, BTW the investment ploy doesn't work anymore.

 

[shamokinmamba]

Actually I was in the market for a vette, had a 63 and an 86 SOLD them for family reasons, and at this stage in life was ready and wanted to purchase a new 04. We were checking out the Anniversary edition vette at a chevy dealer in Hamburg, Pa. and crossed over to the Chrysler/Dodge dealer just to check ot the caravans, we were driving one at that time. OH MY GOD! THis red Convertible was sitting in the middle of the show room with the top down! What is it??? I never seen a viper or even heard of it! The dealer was nice enough to explain it was a Viper and opened the door for me to sit in. I looked at the msrp and knew that it was a lot more then the vette, but OH MY GOD! We went home, I went to bed, woke up, and ate, with this car on my mind. I looked, researched, and read this forum, and then 6 months later, we bought a white mamba. I was a vette man all my life, but after seeing this Viper, I KNEW I WAS IN LOVE AND COULD NOT GET HER OFF MY MIND! She lives in my Garage and I adore her!!! As far as Style, Looks, and POWER, in my opinion, the vette does not even get close and I use to love corvettes!

 

[ERDOC]

Actually I was in the market for a vette, had a 63 and an 86 SOLD them for family reasons, and at this stage in life was ready and wanted to purchase a new 04. We were checking out the Anniversary edition vette at a chevy dealer in Hamburg, Pa. and crossed over to the Chrysler/Dodge dealer just to check ot the caravans, we were driving one at that time. OH MY GOD! THis red Convertible was sitting in the middle of the show room with the top down! What is it??? I never seen a viper or even heard of it! The dealer was nice enough to explain it was a Viper and opened the door for me to sit in. I looked at the msrp and knew that it was a lot more then the vette, but OH MY GOD! We went home, I went to bed, woke up, and ate, with this car on my mind. I looked, researched, and read this forum, and then 6 months later, we bought a white mamba. I was a vette man all my life, but after seeing this Viper, I KNEW I WAS IN LOVE AND COULD NOT GET HER OFF MY MIND! She lives in my Garage and I adore her!!! As far as Style, Looks, and POWER, in my opinion, the vette does not even get close and I use to love corvettes!

Where are you from? You have never heard of a Viper and you are "vette" guy?

 

[shamokinmamba]

Shamokin, Pa, about 50 miles above Harrisburg. I am not really into cars, the way you guys are, but I have always liked sports cars, and the corvette was my favorite. You never see vipers in our area, so if you are not IN TO CARS, How would you know what VIPER is or looks like, and as I said, I was not really into the Sports car thing, until after I saw the viper, then I took a second look. I watched this forum, and Thanks to you Guys, I have learned many things, The only thing I knew about cars, is that you put gas in the tank to make them go. Sorry, I need to plead ignorance or call it stupidty, when it comes to cars, but at least I can say, I have got GOOD TASTE! Saw the Viper and fell in love, Watched this forum and learned as much as I needed to, and then went and got my Viper. In fact, when I purchased the car, I knew more then the dealer did that sold it. Even today, If i go to Dodge dealers in our area, They do not know what you are talking about when you say Mamba. What the is a MAMBA? In fact, I had to go to NJ to get it. Nothing in our area. Closest dealer that had one was in Altoona, and they wanted list. SOOO, I guess you could say I am in the Boonies, lots of coal dirt in this region, not vipers. but there is one in my garage now. This forum really is what was a driving edge that turned me to that car, and I do thank all of you for the knowledge that I have gotten here. Thanks guys!